Pressing machine



July 5, 193s.

S. BOOTH PRESSING'MACHINE led Dec. 20. 1935 '50 foot lever 5 in front of the lever pivot IIJ.

Patented July 5, 1938 UNEED .STATES PRESSING MACHINE Stanley Booth, Leeds, England Application December Z0, 1935, `Serial-No. 55,485 In Great Britain April l.,VV 1935 4 Claims.

This invention relates to pressing machines of the type including a pressing iron capable of being passed over a so-called buck, or which includes an upper and lower buck, and wherein the 5 iron or upper pressing buck is depressed and raised by means of a foot or other operating lever .or equivalent means.

In the normal working of the above machine the iron or buck is freely depressed or raised by manipulation of the operating lever. At certain periods during the operation of the machine it is desirable to retain the iron or buck in a depressed position and for this purpose means have been furnished capable of locking the operating means of the iron or buck.

Previously known locking means have included mechanical devices incorporating ratchet members which serve to hold the iron or buck but have only been capable of moving from one tooth to another of the ratchet whichA causes the locking means to be limited to `predetermined stages.

AThe object of this invention is to provide simple but eilicient locking means capable of obviating the above difficulty and of locking the iron or buck in a desired position within `the working requirements of the machine, whereby the adjustment of said iron orA buck with respect to the y lower buck is adapted to( be innitely variable.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing in which an embodiment of this invention is shown by way of example only:- Fig. 1 is a sectional side elevation of a pressing machine showing the improved locking device;

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan on line A-A of Fig. l

Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation of the locking device;

Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevation of the valve structure.

In the drawing the locking device is shown ap'- 40 plied to a well known type of pressing machine including a pressing iron I adapted to be lowered to its work through connections 2, 3, and 4 by the depression of a pivoted foot lever 5 which automatically rises under the influence of springs 6 (or balance weights) and thereby raises the iron To the machine frame 'I is pivotally anchored by means of the adjustable screws la, a pump element 8 having its piston rod 9 anchored to the As the foot lever is depressed the piston II is drawn downwardly in its barrel I2 by the piston rod 9 and the suction createdabove the piston opens, or retains open, a spring closed release valve I3.

Liquid flows into the barrel I2 as the piston II descends and lls the space between the piston and the valve I3 and thereby prevents any return of such piston owing to the return pressure of the liquidclosing the valve. By this means the foot lever 5 is held in the position at which 5, the machine operator ceased to depress it and as this may take place at any point between the highest and lowest limits of the foot levers stroke, infinitely variable adjustment of the iron Ais afforded. This method of locking the iron allows 1u a light/or heavy vpressure to be applied to any thickness of materialjgarment or the like placed upon the buck Ill without being limited to given stages,

To release the foot lever 5 the valve I 3 is opened 15 for the return flow of the liquid by any convenient control means such as a foot or hand lever connected to the `valve by mechanical or flexible operating means. If the valve is opened by i-its control lever simultaneously lwith the de- 20 pression of the-machine foot lever 5 the latter will have unrestricted movement for raising and lowering the iron I. It will be appreciated by opening the valve I3 the piston II will simply pump liquid into and out of the pump barrel I2. 25

The pump element 8 shown in the drawing includes the pump barrel I 2 furnished with a liquid reservoir I 5 at its upper e'nd having access to the barrel only through a valve member I6 provided with the'spring closed valve I3. The valve I3 30 is in the form of a flange furnished with a pendant ring I'I, and also with an upstanding sleeve 4I8 which is slidably mounted in, and projects lbeyond the top of the elongated boss I9 of the valvemember I6. The ring I'I is closed on its 35 underside by a baffle piece 20 and liquid passes into orfrom the ring through lateral openings 2I. Seated within the ring II is an auxiliary valve 22 (provided with a stem 23) which normally closes the ports 24 opening into the hollow 40 valve member I6. Communication is made with the hollow valve member I6 from the reservoir I5 through the lateral ports 25 and when the valve stern` 23 is slightly depressed for opening the valve 22, liquid returning from the barrel I2 will be di- 45 rected by the baffle piece 20 to the lateral openings 2 I. This arrangement prevents any tendency to close the valve 22 as may be done by direct central pressure Yon the valve.

By opening the valve 22 the initial return pres- 50 sure of theliquid is released and flows through the ring-I1 and valve member IE into the reservoir I5. Continued pressure on the stem 23 causes the collar 26 (pinned on the stem 23) to engage the sleeve I8 of the valve I3 and depress 554 such valve for allowing the bulk of the liquid in the barrel to flow back through the valve member I6. The valves I3 and 22 are closed after the return of the liquid by the spring 21 after pressure is` removed from the stem 23.

To open the valves I3 and 22 the valve stem 23 passes up through the reservoir I5 and may pass through the cap 28 so as to be engaged by the adjustable screw 29 of a pivoted lever 30 carried by the cap 28. Preferably a block 3| is slidably located in the boss (or gland) of the cap 28 so as to rest upon and operate the stem 23. The pivoted lever 30 is operated by the aforesaid control means which in the drawing comprises a front rod 32 anchored at its lower end to the foot lever 5 and a rear rod 33 anchored at its lower end to a bell crank lever 34. The lever 34 is supported by a bracket 35 (xed to the machine frame 1) and connected by a rod 36 to the foot pedal 31 pivoted adjacent to the front end of the foot lever 5. The rod 32 operates the front end of the pivoted lever 30 through the medium of the spring 38 and the adjustable nuts 39. A space is left between the nuts and the spring to remove tension from the spring when the foot lever 5 is raised so that the valves I3 and 22 will remain open due to pressure exerted by screw 29. This also allows the foot lever 5 to be depressed for part of its stroke before the pivoted lever 30 is operated for releasing the valves I3 and 22 so that they may close immediately the pressure of the machine operators foot is removed from pedal 31 and foot lever 5. Such arrangement is provided owing to it being unnecessary for general purposes for the iron I to be locked other than when within a comparatively short distance of the buck I4. Further, the position of the foot pedal 31 enables the machine operator to place a foot on both the pedal 31. and foot lever 5 simultaneously for the normal working of the machine and such foot need only be drawn off the pedal 31 for locking the iron. Moreover the pedal may be quickly depressed for releasing the iron I.

In operation (for locking the iron) the foot lever 5 when depressed, lowers the piston II which, when the valves I3, Y22 are automatically released by screw 29, retains the main valve I3 open by suction for the down ilow of liquid which locks the iron I by the liquid closing the valve I3 against its own return. During such downward movement the rod 32 operates the pivoted lever 30 which raises the screw 29 clear of the block 3I and pulls the rear rod 33 for raising the foot pedal 31 through the bell crank lever 34 and rod 36. In this manner the foot pedal 31 is in a raised position when the iron I is locked so that the pedal simply requires to be depressed for releasing the iron I by operating the valves I3 and 22 through rods 33, 36 and levers 30, 34.

To prevent leakage of the liquid down the piston rod 9 a packing gland 40 is placed at the bottom of the barrel I2. Furthermore, as liquid may creep past the piston Il, air may be exhausted from the barrel I2 below the piston Il through a by-pass 4I and adapted to carry any liquid in the lower part of the barrel with it to the liquid reservoir. To afford the easy addition of liquid to the reservoir I5, a pipe 42 with a funnel top 43is attached tothe cap 28. The funnel top 43is located immediately below an opening (provided with a cover) in the machine top 44 which allows easyaccess for liquid replenishing purposes. A

What I claim istl. In a pedal lock for a machine oi the type comprising a frame, a member supported for movement on said frame, and mechanism including an operating element such as a foot lever for displacing the said member in relation to the frame; locking means for retaining the movable member in any desired displaced position, said locking means comprising a piston pump having its cylinder connected to the said frame and having a downwardly extending piston rod connected to said operating element, a liquid reservoir, valve means comprising a main valve having a ported sleeve-like part projecting into the pump cylinder, a seating within said sleeve-like part and a baille member closing the open end of said sleeve-like part, and a pilot valve having its head disposed in the said sleeve-like part to co-operate with the said seating, said valve means being arranged to permit ilow of liquid from the reservoir to the pump on movement of the said mechanism to displace the said member and to close automatically upon cessation of such movement of the said mechanism, and control means for opening the said valve means to permit return flow of liquid from the said pump to the said reservoir.

2. In a pedal lock for a machine vof the type comprising a frame, a member supported for movement on said frame, and mechanism including an operating element such as a foot lever for displacing the said member in relation to the frame; locking means for retaining the movable member in any desired displaced position, said locking means comprising a piston pump connected between the said mechanism and the said frame, a liquid reservoir, valve means arranged to permit flow of liquid from the reservoir to the pump on movement of the said mechanism to displace the said member and to close automatically upon cessation oi such movement of the said mechanism, said valve means comprising co-axial main and pilot valves, a sleeve connected to the said main valve for effecting opening movement thereof, a spindle connected to the said pilot valve and extending through and beyond the said sleeve for effecting opening movement of the pilot valve, a double-armed lever arranged to act on the said spindle, means coupled to the said operating element for exerting resilient pressure on the said lever to maintain the same normally in the inoperative position, a valve control element on the said operating element, linkage and lever mechanism connecting the said lever to the said control element, and a loose `slidably mounted element interposed between the .comprising a frame, a member supported for movement on said frame, and mechanism including an operating element such as a foot lever for displacing the said pressing member in relation to the frame; locking means for retaining the movable member in any desired displaced position, said locking means comprising a piston pump connected between the said mechanism and the said frame, a liquid reservoir provided at the valve and extending through and beyond the said sleeve for effecting opening movement of the pilot valve, a cap closing the said reservoir, a double-armed lever mounted on the said cap and arranged to act on the said spindle, means coupled to the said operating element for exerting resilient pressure on the said lever to maintain the same normally in theinoperative position, a valve control element on the said operating element, linkage and lever mechanism connecting the said lever to the said control element, and a loose element slidably mounted in a bore in the said cap and interposed between the said lever and the vsaid spindle.

4. In a pedal lock for a machine of the type comprising a frame, a member supported for movement on said frame, and mechanism including an operating element such as a foot lever for displacing the said pressing member in relation to the frame; locking means for retaining the movable member in any desired displaced position, said locking means comprising a piston pump having its cylinder connected to the said frame and having a downwardly extending piston rod connected to the said operating element, a liquid reservoir, valve means arranged to permit ow of liquid from the reservoir to the pump on movement of the said mechanism to displace the said member and to close automatically upon cessation of such movement of the said mechanism, a lever arranged to act on the said valve means, means coupled to the said operating element for exerting resilient pressure on the said lever to hold same in the inoperative position when the said operating element is depressed, a valve control element on the said operating element, linkage and lever mechanism connecting the said lever to the said control element, a stuing box at the lower end of `the said cylinder through which stuiing box the piston rod passes, and a by-pass passage leading from the lower end of the said cylinder to the liquid reservoir.

STANLEY BOOTH.

` CERTIFICA'JJEl oF- CORRECTION.'- Patent No. 2,122,927. July 5, 1958.

Smm BOOTH.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2, second. column, line 61, and page 5, first column, line `19, claims 5 and LL respectively, strike out the word "pressing"; and that the said Letters Patent shouldberead with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed'. this 9th clayV of August, A. D. 1958.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patente. 

